Carlos Correa
(Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Carlos Correa lifts the Houston Astros to a thrilling 3-2 victory in 11 innings over the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the ALCS. 

Allison Case

  • New York Yankees 2 (1-1)
  • Houston Astros 3 (1-1)
  • ALCS, Game 2, Final, 11 Innings, Box Score
  • Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

It was slated to be a heavyweight battle between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros. And boy, did this contest deliver in Game 2 in Houston.

With Justin Verlander, the crown prince of the MLB, and James Paxton facing off, the expectation was for the game to be low-scoring and tight through all nine innings. While there wasn’t much official action, this was truly a battle fought on the mound for both teams.

In the end, however, it was one swing of the bat that put the home team over the top. Carlos Correa’s walk-off in the top of the 11th provided the Astros a 3-2 Game 2 victory.

It came off J.A. Happ who was accounted for the Bombers ninth pitcher of the night.

To begin the night, Verlander entered this game coming off a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, going 3.2 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits. He picked up right where he left off from his first postseason outing, going 6.2 innings and firing 109 pitches, 77 for strikes.

However, the Yankees were able to take advantage of a few mistakes by Verlander. While he retired the first nine Bombers in a row, he walked DJ LeMahieu to bring up Aaron Judge, an incredible power threat.

Well, Aaron Judge made Verlander pay for a hanging slider by depositing it into the bullpen.

While that marked the primary scoring for the Yankees off of Verlander, that was a good start for the Bombers, who struggled to get baserunners against the 36-year-old right-hander.

However, the New York Yankees missed several opportunities against Verlander. The Bombers had runners on in the fifth and sixth before helping Verlander get out of trouble. The most notable moment came when Brett Gardner, with runners on first and second and two outs, laced a sharp grounder to Jose Altuve. Bobbling the hit, DJ LeMahieu attempted to score from second before Carlos Correa, in a heads-up play, scooped up the loose ball and fired to home to nab LeMahieu.

On the other end, James Paxton found himself in trouble early. Despite a 1-2-3 first inning, Paxton found some issues in the second, putting runners on first and second before allowing an RBI double to Carlos Correa on a knuckle curve.

Paxton found himself being relieved by Chad Green early, who took over after Paxton’s 2.1 innings of work. Green quickly got out of a jam and put in two innings of impressive work, striking out two and not allowing a baserunner.

The trouble really came when Aaron Boone decided to relieve Chad Green of his duties, bringing power righty Adam Ottavino. On the first pitch, Ottavino allowed a monster blast to George Springer to tie the game.

The Yankees soon sent in Tommy Kahnle for 2.1 innings of scoreless work and Zack Britton for his own dominant inning before heading to Aroldis Chapman to take on the bottom of the ninth in the tie game.

After two labor-intensive outs, Chapman walked Aledmys Diaz to bring up George Springer. After a lengthy at-bat, Chapman emerged the victor, striking out Springer for some free baseball until Correa sent the fans home happy.

While there is an off-day on Monday, the Yankees look to beat the Astros at their home ballpark starting Tuesday, which is slated for a 4:08 p.m. ET start. The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound while the Astros will counter with their undisputed ace, Gerrit Cole.


Allison is just a girl with an enormous passion for the game of baseball and the written word. Based in Upstate New York, her life-long relationship with the New York Yankees is something that she developed through close relationships with her mother and grandfather. An aspiring sports writer, she graduated with a journalism degree and is finding places to share her excitement about the sporting world and how it affects us all.